Being able to study in the United States is a reality for Maram Al-Butairi because of her husband receiving a scholarship from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. She explains. "My husband is scholared so because I am his wife I am scholared as well in the same program. King Abdullah offered the five year program scholaring Saudi's to all over the world for free without no obligations. You apply for that scholarship and then if you got accepted you go to an approved university all over the country and you are not obligated to anyone. They will pay your tuition, they will give you a monthly payment and you are fully sponsored with the health insurance. So this is a once in a life opportunity," she says. "This is a great opportunity actually. To be not obligated, to get all of these excellent and great things that our king is providing us with is amagzing."
Maram is majoring in Accounting at Drury University located in Springfield Missouri and she has nothing but positive things to say about the university and professors. "I come driving here which I don't do in Saudi Arabia alone and then come to the university, talk to everyone, they are so out going, friendly and helpful. Come to class everyone is so great with me and I love everything over here actually. I chose Drury because its the second university that my government approved for in Springfield, Missouri and the fact that it is private and each class is small and has like less students which is perfect for me as an international student so each professor will focus on each student," she says.
"Back home I use to hate classes. I use to hate my university because I hate the fact that someone in front of me reading out of the book and writing it down on the board. This is not a way of teaching students you get bored you don't want to be in class, but here at university of Drury and I don't know if it is all over the United States, they get you involved in everyway. They use high technology and they use things that you are interested in like you tube, gmail, pictures they get everything involved in the class. It is so interesting to be in the class," she says. "I hate missing classes at Drury. I don't think I have missed any class so far."
Being independent is a major part of Maram going to college in the United States. "I choose to be in a different university than my husband because I want to be independent. I don't have this opportunity back home like to be so independent the fact that girls are so spoiled back home and everything is done by other's for us, so when I came here I decided to take that challenge and to do everything by myself, to do simple stuff like choosing the courses that I want to take next year, go to the business office and tell them about my financial guarantee and stuff, and go to the director's office or something. I want to experience all this stuff because I didn't do them back home at all. My dad use to do them or my husband."
Maram's motto in life is...... "I always say Insha' Allah..."if its God's will." I don't know what's going to happen. Everything change. You don't know when you are going to have a child, when you are going to move, somebody is dying, somebody is going to be happy, my husband is going to have a bigger opportunity over here I'm going to have my CPA every, every day there is a lot changing. You don't know what is going to happen. Everyday is a new day.
